RING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH A NEW CLASSIC ...

Happy New Year Everyone!

With 2011 coming to a fast close, why not spend the weekend with THE LEGEND OF VICTOR STANDISH by Roland Yeomans.

Not since Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn has there been such an exciting young male hero. Not even the magical Harry Potter has escaped more times from mortal danger than Victor Standish.

Set in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Victor arrives in New Orleans. Here he meets Old Suz and his life changes forever. Little does he know for the first time in his street existence, he will encounter a figure so larger-than-life: Captain Sam McCord.

Sam, an enigma all of his own, can only protect Victor one way ... by bringing him to Meilori's ... the crossroads of multiple worlds.

Roland weaves a fabric so tight and intricate, the reader is swept away. Dozens of historical characters intertwine with the lacy iron work of Meilori's classic architecture.

At Midnight, Victor is dropped into an eerie cemetery right in front of the crypt of Marie Laveau. Waiting for the Angel of Death to swoop down upon him, something extraordinary happens. Can you guess? Not likely. Only Mr. Yeoman's imagination could possibly create such a scene.

Through the mist, an unearthly voice calls to Victor in his mind. Hungry, so hungry, Alice Wentworth announces herself. With neon blue eyes ablaze, she subtly appears. But Alice hungers, for what, we are not certain, Could it be love? Or her next meal.

I thoroughly enjoyed THE LEGENDS OF VICTOR STANDISH. And now so can you. It is just a quick click away. Roland is so kindly giving all his royalties to the Salvation Army this holiday season. Why not use that shiny new Amazon gift card and download it today. It will be such a fun way to ring in the new year with some new friends...


I would also like to take this time to wish everyone of my blogger friends and their families a happy, healthy, and very prosperous new year. Many of us had lots of ups and downs this year and I sincerely hope the downs will be much fewer in 2012.

I have been so fortunate this year. Although my writing career is still on its long journey, I am happy to say I am in such good company. Many of my friends have novels circulating the globe and I am SO happy for them. My turn will come soon ... hopefully this year.

If not, well, I will still keep plugging along. You all give me strength to take another step. You will never know how grateful I am for that little push I need every now and then.

Have a WONDERFUL weekend and stay safe. Many party goers will be celebrating a bit too much so PLEASE be careful on the roads.

I am SO looking forward to another wonderful year sharing life with all of you.

HAPPY 2012 my friends!

A SPECIAL GIFT FOR CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY BLOGGER FRIENDS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!

First I would like to wish each and over one of my wonderful blogger friends a happy, healthy, and special day. Christmas is a time to spend with family and friends sharing in one of life's most special and cherished days.

I had planned to post an amazing movie short I had created, but because of technical difficulties and time restraints I couldn't get it to post. BUT, since I am currently in one of the most amazing cities in the world.... I am sending you holiday greeting from THE BIG APPLE.

Here are a few pics of Christmas in Manhattan. I home you enjoy them!

Have a MAGICAL DAY everyone!

The stunning arcade in Rockefeller Center, leading to the star....

THE WORLD FAMOUS TREE!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!

KEEPING YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR DURING THE HOLIDAYS ...

Hi, all,

Sorry it's been a while, but I've been experiencing lots of Christmas mishaps ...

You know it's happened to all of us: the tangled Christmas lights. But this post isn't about that, although we all need to have MAJOR patience and have several glasses of wine for that yearly event.

This lovely little tale began on Saturday. After agonizing over finding the perfect Christmas tree, a new pre-lit, I was finally ready to set up the new seven foot beauty.

One good thing about pre-lits, NO TANGLED LIGHTS... lol. Had to mention it again. After piecing it together and connecting the lights, I was ready to "Fluff the tree." As many of you know, these trees are hideous coming out of the box. "Fluffing" is THE new art form. It took me a little over an hour to separate every branch and open up the hundreds of needles.

Standing back, I had realized this tree was WAY too skinny. Tall and thin it disappeared in my oversized living room. Moving from point A to point B, I found a spot that would work.

Now for the fun ... decorating. I had spent most of the morning dragging up about half a dozen massive plastic storage bins from my storage unit in the basement of my building. Yes, there is an elevator, but my storage unit is on the other side of the building... of course.

After several more hours of painstakingly placing each wonderful ornament in it's place, I was ready to tinsel the tree. This is a most important step... you can't just throw it on, it has to be "drizzled" expertly so it looks like cascading snow. Another hour and it was done.

Although still looking quite slim, the tree looked beautiful. I grabbed a glass of wine and with the Christmas music on, I sat on the new comfy sofa to admire my many hours of work.

So what's the point of this post, you ask?

Twenty-four hours later.

Sunday was a friend's birthday, so before I left for the afternoon, I had turned on the tree. I couldn't wait to see it from the street that evening. I live on the second floor and my living room has five wrap around windows, so the tree is quite visible from several angles.

As my friend drove up to my building to take me home, he had commented on how pretty the tree looked. I had glanced up, finding my neighbor's STUNNING nine-foot beauty twinkling in the next set of windows.

"Not mine, my neighbors. My tree isn't lit. Hmmm, I wonder why?" I had said.

I raced up to my condo, opened the door, and sprinted into the pitch-black living room. "Not good."

The tree was lifeless. I thought perhaps the socket blew... nope. I changed the extension. Nope. After a good half an hour trying everything, nothing worked.

"Great!" I had exclaimed. "All this work and stress for nothing!" I went to bed fuming.

Yesterday, after another several hours of collecting the hundreds of strands of tinsel, dozens of ornaments, etc, a thought popped into my head.
"Hey, don't lights have those little fuse things for when the trees lights blow out?" I found the little package and crawled under the tree. Using tweezers to get to the little suckers and I replaced the fuses.

"It's a Christmas miracle," I grumbled.

Looking all around at the explosion of Christmas on every hidden surface, I shook my head. "Why couldn't I have thought of this before I tore apart the tree..."

Has anything like this ever happened to you? I'd love to hear about it.

So my dear bloggy friends.... Remember we ALL need to have a sense of humor durning this wonderful time of year.

Have I redecorated the tree, you ask? Nope.... I decided the tree really is too thin and is going back. So now back to step one... locating the perfect tree. Time is running out.... Wish me luck.

Have a great day everyone!

A GIFT FROM THE HEART ...

As Christmas approaches, fond memories of past Christmas's have been flooding my memory. When I was in my early teens, many was the time I gave handmade gifts for friends and family. I had loved all kinds of crafting and had a talent for creating beautiful and unique gifts.

TIme passed and I grew older with high paying jobs. My gifts turned to the more extravagant and commercial. Hey, I could afford the best and I wanted to share my success with the people I loved. For many years, my time was limited so the love and time I had put in my handmade gifts were certainly a thing of the past.

Now that life has slowed down for me, those fond memories returned. I realized that I still LOVED to create handmade gifts. A close blogger friend is having a baby, and I created my first handmade gift in years for that new life. IT FELT AMAZING.

So this year, I have decided to return to an old fashioned Christmas. I plan to make most of my gifts. I sew, knit, crochet and bake, so I have all bases covered. How about you guys? Don't you feel the commercial part of Christmas is getting out of hand? Wouldn't it be fun and show the true meaning of Christmas to give a gift from the heart?

How would you feel to receive such a gift? I know if someone spent so much of their time creating something for me, I would be thrilled. Time is such a precious commodity these days...

If you have some free time, why not try to give something hand made. Believe me it will make you feel so good. Not to mention the wonderful aromas of baked goods wafting through your home.

What are your thoughts? Do you have anything special planned for your loved ones. I'd really love to know...

Have a terrific day everyone!

A UNEXPECTED SURPRISE ON A GLOMMY MONDAY...

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. With Christmas just around the corner, Chicago is a buzz with bright lights and Christmas cheer.

Lincoln Parks ZOO LIGHTS officially opened last Friday and it is AMAZING. For anyone in Chicagoland it is a MUST!

Michigan Ave is beyond spectacular with stunning store windows and thousands of shoppers. Although the weather hasn't been cold, but it has been rainy and WINDY, but it isn't stopping anyone from buying their Christmas trees and presents.

As you all know by now I did make my 500 friends THANKS to all of you. As I had promised I will be awarding three Amazon gift cards as a special THANKS to all of me dear blogger friends. Without all of you this year would have been down right depressing. You have been my strong hold and for that I am truly grateful.

These past few months I have been on pins and needles waiting to hear for a publisher. I haven't shared this information because I wanted to make that happy announcement once I had the coveted contract...

Well, it wasn't what I had expected, but the news was a nice surprise never the less. The acquisitions editor told me she new the book wasn't right for her almost from the beginning. AND, as we all know how buys editors are, most would have dropped the manuscript like the plague, BUT, she didn't. She actually was compelled to finish reading it, intrigued by the MC and wanting to know what happened to him.

She stated that the ROMANCE element wasn't strong enough. I had a feeling it might not be, but I tried anyway. So you see even a rejection can be good news. If my novel can keep the interest of a busy editor even though it's not right for them, just think what it might do for the right agent/publisher! So I am not too bummed.

Back to querying though.... Let's hope The Blinded Gardener will find a home soon.

Have any of you had a "good" rejection? We've  all heard about the negative ones. Let's focus on the positive. I'd really like to hear about them.

NOW for the winners....

A special Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for getting the word out. OF course there were many of you tweeting and Facebooking and for that I am most appreciative.

Out of the 128 entries Random.org picked the lucky ones.

Congratulations    Theresa Milstein

                             Robyn Campbell

                             Sheri Larsen

You each won a $10.00 Amazon gift card.   Happy reading.... Ladies send me your email ASAP so I can send them out to you.

HAVE a GREAT MONDAY Everyone....

MY INTERNET IS BACK ...ROCK ON! 501 FRIENDS!

Thanks to all of my wonderful that I have made this year, I have made it to over 500. Your tweets, posts, and Facebook links have put me over the top.

A special thanks to Alex Cavanaugh who really went beyond the call of duty... THANK YOU ALEX!

Now that my internet service has been restored I can formally welcome ALL my new friends. It has been a while so the list is extensive. Some twenty-five plus I think. Well her goes...

Daina, Lyn, Patti, Khle, Anne, Mish,  Jeremy, Kristen, Laura, Jenna, Nadh, Cassie, Abby, Farawayeyes, Basil, Anna, Bonnie, L.C. Andy, Angela, Angela A., Stacy, Alexandra, Nisa, Jessie, Jennifer, The manic, silversolara, Gillian, Laura, latisha, Tania, Elizabeth, Colleen, CD, Cathy, Septembermom (500!), and my newest young friend, Lenny... How could you not smile when you see that smiling sun.... Thank you all. I can't wait to get to know all of you better. It will take time, but I will get to all of your blogs soon.

Can you believe how awesome these people are? Imagine also, that WE all have a love of writing, a passion for life, and a bond that could NEVER be broken.

This past year has been the most wonderful time I have had in a LONG time. I have learned to laugh and cry again. Thanks to all of you.

Now don't forget to leave a comment so that I can enter you in the drawing if you haven't yet. You have until Dec. 2nd midnight. So click onto those funny little lego dwarfs to comment.

Have a WONDERFUL Thursday everyone.

Also Don't forget to check on my friend Roland's blog and his contest... It is BEYOND awesome. Click here for the details and delve into the amazing writing of this man. Treat yourself to an ebook. He has many to choose from and check on my favorite. THE LEGEND OF VICTOR STANDISH. You won't be disappointed.